Niederhauser, D.S., Howard, S.K., Voogt, J. et al. Tech Know Learn (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-018-9382-z
Although a positive impact of technology interventions on educational practice and student outcomes has been shown in many previous research settings, the use of technology in classrooms and schools is still often superficial and not meeting the potential of technology as envisioned by education reformers and researchers in the field. However, when technology projects have been implemented successfully in educational practice and shown valuable impacts, sustainability within similar contexts is not guaranteed—let alone scaling the initiative to other broader contexts. This article builds on the discussions of the EDUsummIT 2017 Thematic Working Group 9 (TWG9) and the summary report that captured the outcome of those discussions. The goal of TWG9 was to help inform policy and practice by providing insights into key factors that contribute to scalability and sustainability of educational technology integration and impact.
In the article the authors formulate three challenges in combination with recommendations for the short and long term:
Challenge 1: Establish productive research partnerships among stakeholders.
(for the recommendations of the authors see the original article)
Challenge 2: Identify research-informed approaches to technology integration that are sustainable and scalable.
Short Term Recommendations
- Provide opportunities and support for scholars to synthesize research from successfully scaled and sustained innovations into future innovation designs that address technology integration.
- Provide opportunities and support for scholars to extract best practice examples of successfully scaled and sustained innovations.
Long Term Recommendation
- Build a comprehensive body of knowledge about scalable and sustainable innovation designs and findings to inform decision-making and policy.
- Build on and adapt technology integration and innovation designs that have success-fully scaled and sustained.
Challenge 3: Develop sustainable and scalable approaches to technology integration that are based on research literature rather than policy initiatives.
(for the recommendations of the authors see the original article)